Learning curves for minimally invasive spine surgeries: Are they worth it?

CONCLUSIONS: There is a very limited literature available that focuses on the "learning curves" associated with the performance of different types of MIS spine procedures. The number of cases required to satisfy the "learning curves" for different operations varied from 0 for MIS vs. open discectomy/laminotomy, to 20-30 for a variety of cervical-thoracic-lumbar procedures, and up to 44 cases for TLIF. Shouldn't we ask whether better oversight measures and/or mentoring programs could limit the morbidity/AE occurring during these "learning curves" in the future? PMID: 28540127 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Surgical Neurology International - Category: Neurosurgery Tags: Surg Neurol Int Source Type: research